St. Paul daily globe., 1887-08-26
Who Will Try to Secure His
Release on a Writ Of
Habeas Corpus.
Interesting Legal Points That
Grew Out of a Rather I'm
important Suit.
What Sort of Matter Uncle
Sam Allows His Mails
to Carry.

ID
side fuel dealer, charged with sending
unlawful matter through the mails, and
they are determined to have him at lib
erty if it requires proceedings in more
than one court to accomplish 1t. A state
ment of the case was published when
Mr.. Doran was first arrested. The COM
plant was that he had sent 'ScurrilOuS'
matter through the mails to one ID. D..
Comfy, bOOkkeeper for CorlisS, Chap
man Il Drake, and who, Mr.. Doran
says, owes him fuel bill of long stand
ing. The case had been postponed until
yesterday afternoon. Accordingly 1t
came up before Commissioner CardOZO.
Assistant United States Attorney Dan
Lawler appeared with an amended
complaint, in which the word ''ln-
decent was substituted for ''Scurril-
GUS" Commissioner CardoZo decided
to hold Mr.. Doran over to the grand
jury, and fixed the bail at $1,000. Mr..
Doran was advised by his attorney not
to furnish the bail, and he was placed
in the sheriff's custody.
Erwin 4 Ryan lost no time in prepar-
ing petition for writ of habeaS
corpus, and as soon as it was ready Mr..
Ryan started out in search of Judge
Nelson, of the United States district
court. At a late hour Judge Nelson
could not be found, so the presentation
of the petition to him is deferred until
to-day. Mr.. Erwin referring to the case
said:
1t is true that it would have been much
more convenient to have put up the bail, and
await the term. and probably that would
have been the last of it, but advised Mr.. Do
ran not to furnish the bail, for the citizen
was attacked. and the interest of manhood
H., j.. l. Af
We propose TO show that Mr.. Doran has not
committed any offense under the United
States statutes.
WILL THE WRIT BE ISSUED?
When the petition is presented to Judge
Nelson. according to the attorneys, there is
no doubt that the writ will issue, and Mr..
Doran be liberated. The petition mentions
the filing of the complaint by Dan Lawler on
the 18th. the issue of the warrant by |. n.
CardOzo Oh the 10Th, Doran's S arrest that day,
and the subsequent examination on yester-
day and itsets up:
That d. j. Comfy testified that he received
a postal card and an envelope, and Mr.. Do
ran admits he mailed them; that there was
no testimony whatever before the commits
sioners. TO show that any offenSe whatever
had been committed under the United States
statutes; that the words complained of as
indecent were "critter'' and ''dead-beat;' and
that writ of hebeas corpus is accordingly
applied for.
When the writ is returned to Judge
Nelson for a hearing, MeSSrS. Erwin &
Ryan will come armed with the decision
of Judge Barr who, although United
States district judge only, occupied the
bench of the United States circuit court
in the district of-Kentucky in 1882, when
he gave his decision, and his opinion as
coming from the circuit bench cannot
be overruled by a district Judge. 1t is
found on page 663, of the Eleventh fed
eral reporter. The case was that of the
United States VS.. T. A. Smith. Mr..
Smith had written the following postal
card, dated Oct. 10. 1881, to +. NJ. Las
well, of Glasgow, KY:
Dear Sir: Your P c. this date reed & in
reply having had one business transaction
with you which fully developed you to me as
a id scoundrel and rascal. 4 beg that all
in a business manner cease be-
tween us. and that no further business trans
actions ever 10 exist.
Judge Barr reviews the legislation of
congress upon the matter. The act OF
March 3, 1865, provided simply that''no
obscene books, etc, or other publication
of vulgar or indecent character"
should go through the mails. This
acted specifically, inhibited obscene and
vulgar matter, and that is all. In 1872
ttll dulciildloi. lCI WdS paSSCu. III WHICH
the words are mo obscene books, etc,
or other publication of vulgar or in
decent Character, or any letter upon the
envelope of which, or postal card, upon
which scurrilOuS epithets may have
been written or printed, or disloyal de-
vices printed or engraved, shall be
carried in the mail" Again in
1873 an amendatory act was
passed, reading thus: ''No obscene
lewd, or lasciviOus book, etc, FOR other
publication of an indecent character, or
any written or printed card or circular,
upon which ScurrilOuS epithets may be,
shall be carried through the mails"
Section 1888 of the revised statutes pro-
vided that postal cards upon which ''in-
decent or ScurrilOuS epithetS are written
or printed should be nOn-mailable."
The act of 1878 omitted the words dis
loyal Devices" which were in the act of
1872, but retained the word ''Scurrilous,"
but the act of 1879 omitted
THE WORD 'SCURRILOUS"
also, leaving the law just where it was
in the act of 1865. Now, for the opinion
of Judge Barr:
1t is quite clear that the purpose of the act
of 1863 was TO prevent the mails from being
used to circulate obscene literature, pictures,
ETC., and prevent their use for immoral pur-
poses, such as would give information in re-
gard TO abortions etc. The connection i'll
which the word indecent is used, taken
with the history of the legislation upon this
subject, leads me TO the conclusion that it
means 'imnodest," impure" and that
language which is coarse or unbecOming, or
even profaEe, is not within the inhibition of
this act. This construction harmoniZes with
the other provisions of the act and broader
definition of the word indecent would
lead us beyond its spirit and into an uncer-
tain and boundless field of construction
Information quashed accordingly.
Lawyers say that the government
officials acts here in st. Paul seem to be
accounted for by the fact that in the
codification of 1878 the act of 1878 was
included. but in italics, and just preced-
ing the subsequent law of 1876. This
was done because under the statute of
limitations the three years had not then
yeto expired for the trial of OffenseS
under the act of 1888. But the three
years did expire i'll 1879, ana since then
no prosecution can be made under that
act, and Judge Bars opinion is the
only recognizable construction which
regards the present law.
SAYS THE CHECKS WE'RE FORGED.
A civil case to collect the money he
furnished the defendant was begun in
the district court yesterday by Andrew
Holzheimer. saloonkeeper at $50 East
Seventh street, against John Wolney.
Holzheimer alleges that Wolney came
to his place July Is, accompanied by a
man named Joseph Savie, and asked
him to cash two checks, one on the
Capital bank, the other on the German
American, purporting to have been
made out by the Northern Pacific Rail
road company, payable to Sayie, and
amounting to S5l.30. HolZheimer
cashed the checks for them and now he
says they were forgeries.
COURT NOTES
Action was commenced yesterday by r. ".
Bell against the sun Fire Insurance com
pany for the insurance, amounting to $500.
upon two dwellings owned by one Alexander
Pippin at the time the insurance was taken,
and which have become the property of Mr..
Bell by mortgage foreclosure proceedings.
An appeal from the award of the Minneap-
apolis 4 St Croix Railway company for land
condemned for its right of WaV through